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Ed Hunter
Ed Hunter is a 2019 film directed by Jackson Kelley based off of the Iron Maiden video game of the same name. The plot follows a teenage whiz kid who, after a freak accident, becomes hideously deformed, and seeks revenge against humans, while an FBI agent attempts to hunt him down. It is the tenth film of the Concept Album Cinematic Universe. The film premiered with a short film called The Mansion. After the film's success, there was a live action TV Series called The Eddie Chronicles , following Eddie as he tours the world. Cast *Jackson Kelley as Eddie Raymond, a teenage whiz kid and Iron Maiden fan who is turned into the band's mascot. *Eli Morris as Jason Wright, an FBI agent trying to hunt down Eddie. *Carson Hall as Dr. Brett Johnson, a doctor who takes Eddie in *Gage Pearson as Satan, the gatekeeper of Hell. Additionally, twenty five actors signed on to play FBI Agents. They are Alec Frasco, Alex Weese, Davey Helfant, Colin Mooney, Dillon Pless, Jack VonFeldt, Jake Marlatt, Dirk Hugan, Eric Albi, Lewis Bates, Tyrone Williams, Jack Pye, Keegan Cox, Angus Clarke, Luke Rogers, Kyle Atkinson, Jayden Nats, Nathan Giovaninni, Lou Levy, Patrick Mooney, Carter Frick, Ryan Ford, Dylan Holobaugh, Mitchel Marker, and Brody Clark. Plot In his basement, teenage whiz kid Eddie Raymond has finished a portal that will take him into the realms of his favorite band, Iron Maiden. After dinner that night, he goes for a short walk near a nuclear test site, where a bomb created by Dr. Brett Johnson is being tested. The nuclear rays hit Eddie, and he is knocked unconscious. Johnson takes him into the hospital, and then he sees that Eddie's skin has crumbled away, making him a monster. When Eddie hears this news, he awakens and kills Johnson. He goes home, grabs an axe, kills his family, and activates the portal, transporting him to London's West End. Meanwhile, FBI agent Jason Wright hears about Eddie, and he and his troops go to Eddie's house, where they find the portal. Everyone enters, and they see Eddie, killing everyone in his path. When Wright tries to make a peace treaty with Eddie, an agent shoots him, and Eddie kills half the FBI force. Eddie activates another portal and jumps in. The FBI follows him. In a dark forest, the FBI sees Eddie, morphed into a tree monster (a reference to Fear of the Dark). He attacks the FBI, and then is tazered. Eddie is taken to the Shady Pines Asylum, where he is chained up (a reference to Piece of Mind). When the janitor accidentally unplugs his headphones, the Trooper plays, which makes Eddie stronger, and he escapes, killing the janitor. Wright finds out about this, and he and his team try to stop Eddie, but it is too late, he has escaped, and activated a portal. The FBI arrives in the Gates of Hell, where Satan attacks them. Satan is revealed to be a marionette, controlled by Eddie (a reference to the Number of the Beast). Eddie shrinks, and kills more of the FBI. Wright attempts to get another peace treaty, but that goes awry, as Eddie almost kills him. After, he activates another portal, and the FBI follows him. Everyone lands in a graveyard, where Eddie kills more of the FBI with corpses rising from the dead. He then grows a pair of wings and flies away. Wright's team shoots at Eddie from above, and Eddie torches them with a flamethrower. After that, Eddie activates another portal, called the duo portal, sending Wright in one. Eddie travels in the other one. Wright ends up back in West End, and he escapes with the help of one of Eddie's victims. Meanwhile, Eddie has arrived in Egypt and has built a whole area dedicated to himself, with all the people of Egypt that fear him as his slaves. Wright appears, and Eddie makes him his slave. Wright breaks free by shooting Eddie in the head. Eddie chases after him, and they both fall into a portal. Wright lands in the future, and is shocked to see his face on a Wanted poster, which Eddie appears, as a Blade Runner cop. He shoots, but Wright escapes. Eddie gives hot pursuit, and a car chase is on. Wright shoots some more, and Eddie's car crashes. Eddie, now more deformed, almost kills Wright, and then falls into another portal. Eddie and Wright have a final showdown on the moon. After a grueling battle, Eddie uses his axe the crack open Wright's space helmet. Wright's flesh is ripped off, making him dead. Eddie grows his wings back, and says "how does it feel to be the monster?" before flying off. In a post credits scene, Satan, free of his strings, looks over the world, and locates Tom Wilson, setting up Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Production Wanting to add something Iron Maiden to the Concept Album Cinematic Universe, Jackson Kelley found an old video game based on Iron Maiden. After thinking the gameplay was boring, he thought the story was awesome. The cast differentiated from previous films, as Kelley wanted some people who weren't familiar with the Concept Album Cinematic Universe. Nick Stone was going to play Jason Wright, and Payton Frisch was set to play Brett Johnson, but they were dropped for Colby Aman and Jake Marlatt. Marlatt dropped out, and was replaced by Carson Hall. Marlatt was recast as an FBI Agent. Aman was dropped from the film after he didn't show up after three weeks. The frontrunners for Wright were Charlie Janicki, Carson Fry, and Cole Skillington. Luke Sorensen was hired, but he was fired shortly after refusing to listen to Iron Maiden. David Helfant, who plays an FBI Agent, suggested to Kelley that his good friend Eli Morris play the role of Wright. Kelley questioned Morris, and he was hired shortly after. Kelley said the story was going to focus on Eddie's origin, and how Eddie the Head, Iron Maiden's mascot, came to be. Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, noticed the film, and paid a visit during production. Soundtrack Release Ed Hunter was released in February of 2019, originally slated for a Christmas 2018 release. Reception Box Office Ed Hunter grossed over 367 million worldwide. Critical Reception Ed Hunter recieved positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 34 reviews and an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Ed Hunter pays a tribute to Iron Maiden in a good way, with references to previous work, likeable characters, and an amazing story." On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 79 out of 100, indicating positive reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an A- based on an A through F scale. Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone gave the film a positive review, saying, "Ed Hunter is a fast paced thrill ride with Iron Maiden at every turn, and it succeeds." Variety's Guy Lodge said, "Iron Maiden's video game has been successfully made into a good horror flick." Controversy Controversy surrounded the film, due to an opening scene where Eddie killed his parents, with audiences calling that scene frightening. Director Jackson Kelley stated that, "Eddie had to start somewhere on his massacre, and no one had to get in his way, most likely his parents." He went on to say that Eddie's parents are super overprotective, like most parents in his generation, and they would have gotten in his way. Kelley then compared the film to John Carpenter's Halloween, where six year old Michael Myers killed his older sister. More controversy came the film's way when Louis Bates, who plays Russel in Gorillaz, was cast as an FBI Agent. People said that "Jackson Kelley wanted to cast unknowns, so why cast Mr. Bates?" Kelley answered by saying "Gorillaz was planned after Ed Hunter, so shut up and let me do my job.". The biggest controversy, however, was when Josh Rose, who plays Agent Rose, got into some major trouble. According to Satan actor Gage Pearson, Rose was busted for bringing four ounces of cocaine into school. He was later expelled, disowned, and placed in jail. Kelley paid a visit to him, and told him he was fired from the film and High Schoolers, the TV show he was planning. Dylan Holobaugh was cast as Rose's replacement. Sequel There is going to be a sequel, called Ed Hunter 2: Legacy of the Beast, and it is in development, with Jackson Kelley returning to write, direct, produce, and reprise his role as Eddie.